Oil burning water heaters with deformable firebox lining



Oct. 6, 1964 R. R. MENDELSON 3,151,614

OIL BURNING WATER HEATERS WITH DEFORMABLE FIREBOX LINING Filed Feb. 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

0 RALPH R. MENDELSON United States Patent 3,151,614 OIL BURYING WATER HEATERS WITH DEFORMABLE FIREBOX LINING Ralph R. Mendelson, 3137 Fairmont Blvd, Cleveland, Ohio Fiied Feb. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 256,605 3 Claims. (Cl. 126-363) This invention relates to water heaters and more particularly to an improved oil burning, underfired water heater and combustion chamber means therefor.

The invention has for its primary object the provision of a water heater of the aforesaid nature which is characterized by its structural simplicity, its inexpensive manufacturing and operating costs, the ease of assembly of its parts, the attractive forms in which the device may be made, and the particularly efiective manner in which it performs its function.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a combustion chamber structure for an oil burning water heater wherein the refractory lining material thereof is quickly and easily replaceable.

Another object of the invention is to provide base means for such a Water heater having the above characterized combustion chamber and which provides support means for the remainder of the heater.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a water heater having the features set forth above which affords ready maintenance to the combustion chamber thereof without substantially dismantling the heater.

Further objects of the present invention and a number of its advantages will be referred to in or will be evident from the following description of one embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a water heater of the type in which the present invention may be embodied;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the heater similar to FIG. 1 showing generally the lower half thereof in vertical section;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged vertical section of the lower portion of the heater showing the refractory liner thereof being inserted into the combustion chamber of the heater; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing another stage in the manner of inserting the refractory liner.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows, generally, a water heater comprising a base ll) having a plurality of legs 11, said base being generally disk-shaped and supporting an outer cylindrical jacket 12. The upper end of the jacket 12 is closed by a disk-like top 13 above which projects a flue pipe 14. Suitable water inlet and outlet pipes 15 and 16 respectively also project upwardy out of the top 13 and are connected to conventional water conduits not here illustrated. An oil burner 17 is mounted on the outside of the water heater adjacent to the lower end thereof, said oil burner having a burner tube 18 projecting radially inwardly into a combustion chamber as illustrated in FIG. 2 and as hereinlater fully described.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the base 10 is formed from sheet metal and has an integral, circumferentially continuous, upwardly directed, annular flange 20. The cylindrical jacket 12 is also made of sheet metal and is adapted at its lowermost end to closely telescopically interfit the annular flange 20 of the base. The top 13 is similarly provided with an annular flange 21 which fits downwardly over the upper end of the jacket 12 in the same manner.

A cylindrical tank support 22 is mounted coaxially upon the disk-like base 10 concentric with the lower end por- 3,151,614 Patented Get. 6, 1964 "ice tion of the jacket 12. The tank support is diametrically smaller than the jacket 12, is made of relatively heavy sheet metal, and is secured to the base 10 in any suitable manner such as by small angle brackets 23 which are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the lower end of said support and bolted to said base by bolt and nut assemblies 24.

The upper end of the tank support 22 has a diametrically inwardly stepped portion 25 which affords an upwardly facing, annular shoulder 26. Said tank support supports a tank of cylindrical form having a concave bottom 31, a central flue 32, and a downwardly directed, circumferential flange 33 which is telescoped over the annular stepped portion 25 and rests upon the annular shoulder 26. The inlet and outlet pipes 15 and 16 project downwardly through the top 13 and into the tank 30 in a conventional manner (not shown). A conventional thermostatic control unit 34 is mounted to the side of the heater and has a member 35 projecting into the tank 30 for controlling the oil burner 17, in response to temperature changes in the water inside the tank, in a well known manner. A bafl'le 36 is disposed within the central fine 32 for retarding the upward flow of hot gases from the combustion chamber to effect heating of the water through the wall of said flue.

A cylindrical, sheet metal firebox shell 40 is mounted upon the base 10 concentrically Within the tank support 22. Said shell is substantially smaller in diameter than the tank support and is of substantially the same axial dimension as said tank support. The shell 40 is secured to the base 15 in any suitable manner such as by means of small angled brackets 41 which are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the lower end portion of said shell and are secured to the base 19 by suitable nut and bolt assemblies 42.

The jacket 12, tank support 22, and the firebox shell 44 are provided with horizontally aligned, coaxial apertures 44, 4 5, and 46 respectively. The aperture 44 of the jacket is preferably rectangular in shape, and the apertures 45 and 46 are preferably circular in shape. The aperture 44 is slightly larger than the apertures 45 and 46, but said apertures 45 and 46 are sufliciently large in themselves to atford ready manual access to the interior of the firebox shell 49. In the form of invention herein illustrated, said apertures 45 and 46 are seven to eight inches in diameter thereby affording suflicient room for a person to project both hands and forearms through the aligned apertures for the purpose of manipulating a shell liner in a manner to be hereinlater fully described.

For the purpose of providing means for mounting the oil burner to the water heater, there is provided a mounting bracket 50 which is secured to the tank support 22 over the aperture 45 in said support. Said mounting bracket preferably comprises a rectangular plate portion 51 having right angularly bent flanges 52 and 53 at the upper and lower edges thereof respectively and right angularly bent flanges 5 and at the side edges thereof respectively. The flanges 52 and 53 abut the outer surface of the tank support 22 above and below the aperture 45, and the side flanges 54 and 55 have obtusely angled extensions 56 and 57 respectively so angled as to be disposed substantially flatwise against the outer surface of said tank support on either side of the aperture 45. Bolt and nut assemblies 58 and 59 secure the extensions 56 and 57 respectively to the tank support 22. This disposes the plate portion 51 outwardly from said tank support generally in a plane intersecting the jacket 12. Said plate portion of the mounting bracket carries a plurality of outwardly projecting bolts 60 by means of wlL'ch the oil burner 17 is mounted to said mounting bracket. Angled escutcheon plates or trim strips 63a and 631) are secured to the flanges 54 and 55 by screws 64a and 64b. Said plates project beyond the edges of the aperture 45 to provide ,a finished appearance to the jacket 12. a

The plate portion 51 of the mounting bracket 50 is centrally apertured at 61, and an air tube sleeve 62 projects inwardly from said aperture toward and into the firebox shell 40. The sleeve 62 has a radially outwardly projecting flange 62a at one end which is welded to the inner surface of the plate portion 51 around the aperture 61. The air tube sleeve affords an opening at one side of the heater extending into the interior of the firebox shell through which the burner tube 18 of the oil burner 17 projects when said oil burner is mounted to the mounting bracket 50. It will be understood that at the distal end of the burner tube a combustible mixture of oil and air is burned within the firebox shell 40 thereby producing hot gases which flow over the concave bottom 31 of the tank and up the baffle equipped fiue 32 to heat the water inside the tank.

Insulation for the water heater is provided between the jacket 12 and the tank 30 and tank support 22, and between said tank support and the firebox shell 40. The outer insulation indicated at 65, may be, for example, fibrous glass batting or the like circumferentially surrounding both the tank and the tank support. The inner insulation, indicated at 66, is preferably mineral or rock wool. The fibrous glass batting insulation 65 has a rectangular opening 67 therein (FIG. 4) aligned with and of substantially the same size as the aperture 44 in the jacket 12 thereby allowing an open space for mounting of the mounting bracket 50 to'the tank support 22.

The mineral wool insulation 66 is provided with an aperture 68 of such size as to allow passage of the sleeve 62 therethrough while closely fitting around said sleeve. It is important that the mineral wool insulation be brought closely adjacent to the sleeve 62 to prevent an excessive amount of heat from being transferred from the firebox shell 40 to the outside of the heater.

The combustion chamber of the water heater is located within the firebox shell 40 and is generally indicated at 70. Said shell has a liner comprising a felted refractory material which has the characteristic of being pliable whereby it will easily conform to the inner contour of the shell. An example of a suitable material for lining the firebox shell is an aluminum silicate refractory felt which can be rolled, folded, or otherwise formed and manipulated under simple manual pressure. The liner of the firebox shell 40 comprises a disk-shaped portion 71 disposed flatwise upon the base 10 and completely filling the bottom of said shell. Said liner further comprises a tube-like or wall liner portion 72 which is disposed completely around the inner surface of the shell 40 and is provided with an aperture 73 of the same size as and aligned with the aperture 68 in the mineral wool 66. The sleeve 62 of the mounting bracket 50 has its distal end disposed within the aperture 73. Pinally, said liner includes a second, relatively smaller diskshaped portion 74 which is disposed flatwise upon the larger disk-shaped portion 71 and extends radially outwardly to the wall liner portion 72.

In the practical use of a water heater of the type herein described and illustrated, it is important that the refractory liner of the firebox shell be periodically replaceable when it deteriorates from use and age. The problem involved is that of affording adequate and safe insulation for the tank and particularly for the combustion chamber thereof while at the same time providing simple, convenient means for replacing the liner without completely or substantially dismantling the heater.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings,.the refractory liner herein disclosed may be simply and easily removed and replaced manually. The aperture 68 in the rock wool or mineral wool insulation 66 is normally too small to afford adequate manual access to the combustion chamber 71), said aperature having a cross dimension, for example, of the general order of 4". However, said mineral wool insulation is resiliently deformable under simple manual pressure whereby a person may stretch and enlarge the aperture 68 to afford access for his hands and forearms to the interior of the shell 40. This enables him to remove an old, worn out liner by simply reaching into the firebox shell, wadding up the pieces of liner, and removing them through the aperture 68.

To reline the firebox shell 40, the larger disk-shaped portion 71 is first inserted by rolling or folding it and pushing it through the aperture 68 into said firebox shell. It will be noted that the apertures 45 and 46 of the tank support and shell respectively already afford room for manual access to the interior of the firebox shell, and under simple manual pressure, the aperture 68 can be stretched from the broken line position of FIGS. 4 and 5 to the full line positions shown therein. The large disk 71 is unrolled or unfolded within the firebox shell and placed flatwise upon the base 10 in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The wall liner portion 72 is then rolled about its normal axis into a relatively small tubular form. It is inserted through the aperture 68 while being held in both hands, the backs of the hands and the forearms serving to manually enlarge the aperture 68. The normal axis of the wall liner portion is disposed horizontally when the insertion is made, but once it is disposed inside of the firebox shell 40 it is pivoted whereby the axis is in its normal vertical position. Particular note is taken of the location of the aperture 73 of the wall liner portion 72 which said aperture has been preformed in the liner before insertion into the firebox. Said aperture 73 should a be so positioned that it is in line with the aperture 68 when the wall liner portion 72 is axially vertically disposed.

Release of the wall liner portion will allow it to unroll slightly thereby tending to move outwardly toward the inner wall surfaces of the shell 40. One hand may then be inserted through the aperture 73 to push'the wall liner portion firmly up against the inner peripheral surface of the firebox shell. Final, small adjustments in the position of the aperture 73 can also be made with one hand to bring said aperture into exact alignment with the aperture 68 of the mineral wool insulation 66.

The final step in relining the firebox shell comprises rolling or folding the relatively'smaller disk-shaped portion of refractory material 74 and depositing it in the bottom of the combustion chamber upon the larger diskshaped portion 71. Because of its small size, this can be done with one hand which will pass easily through the aperture 68 and the aperture 73 with very little need for stretching the size of said apertures. However, the refractory liner material itself is also resilientlydeformable, and the aperture 73 may be stretched slightly if need be to make this final insertion of the small disc-shaped portion 74.

With a new liner in place within the firebox shell 40, it will be readily understood that the mounting bracket 50 is then secured to the tank support 22 by means of the nut and bolt assemblies 58 and 59. The sleeve 62 is again positioned through the apertures 68 and 73 of the mineral wool 66 and the refractory wall linerportion 72 with both said mineral wool and said refractory material closely fitting around said sleeve. An oil burner 17 may.

then be readily mounted to the mounting bracket 50 by means of the bolts 60.

It will be understood that many changes in the details of the invention as herein illustrated and described may be made without, however, departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An oil burning water heater comprising a base; a tank support mounted coaxially upon said base; a tank mounted upon said support; a radially outwardly spaced jacket surrounding said tank and support concentric therewith; heat insulating material disposed between said jacket and said tank and support; a firebox shell mounted upon said base beneath said tank concentric with said support and spaced radially inwardly therefrom; incombustible insulating material disposed between said shell and said support; a collapsible, felted refractory liner disposed within said shell; means defining substantially coaxial apertures in said shell, support, and jacket large enough to afiord manual access to the interior of said shell; means defining a relatively smaller aperture in said second mentioned insulating material substantially coaxial with said first mentioned apertures for receiving the burner tube of an oil burner; said second mentioned insulating material being resiliently deformable whereby said smaller aperture can be manually stretched to enlarge said aperture thereby aifording manual access to the interior of said shell for removing and replacing said liner.

2. An oil burning water heater comprising a flat, horizontal, disk-shaped base; a cylindrical tank support mounted coaxially upon said base; a water tank mounted upon said support; a radially outwardly spaced jacket surrounding said tank and support concentric therewith; heat insulating material disposed between said jacket and said tank and support; a cylindrical firebox shell mounted upon said base beneath said tank concentric with said support and spaced radially inwardly therefor-m; incombustible insulating material disposed between said shell and said support; a collapsible, felted refractory liner lining said shell; means defining substantially coaxial apertures in said shell, support, and jacket large enough to afford manual access to the interior of said shell; means defining a relatively smaller aperture in said incombustible insulating material substantially coaxial with said first mentioned apertures for receiving the burner tube of an oil burner; said incombustible insulating material being resiliently deformable whereby said smaller aperture can be manually stretched to enlarge said aperture thereby affording manual access to the interior of said shell for removing and replacing said liner.

3. An oil burning water heater as set forth in claim 2; a mounting bracket detachably connected to the outside of said support and disposed over the aperture in said support; said bracket carrying a sleeve member which normally projects through said apertures in said support, incombustible insulating material, and said shell and affords a liner for said aperture in said incombustible insulating material; said bracket adapted to carry an oil burner with the burner tube thereof projecting into said shell; said bracket removable for removing and replacing said liner.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,371,347 Morrow Mar. 13, 1945 2,900,019 Beckett Aug. 18, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 610,978 Canada Dec. 20, 1960 OTHER REFERENCES Luxaire Gravity Furnace and Air Conditioning Units, published by the C. A. Olsen Manufacturing Co., Elyria, Ohio, printed in U.S.A., Sept. 1949. 

1. AN OIL BURNING WATER HEATER COMPRISING A BASE; A TANK SUPPORT MOUNTED COAXIALLY UPON SAID BASE; A TANK MOUNTED UPON SAID SUPPORT; A RADIALLY OUTWARDLY SPACED JACKET SURROUNDING SAID TANK AND SUPPORT CONCENTRIC THEREWITH; HEAT INSULATING MATERIAL DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID JACKET AND SAID TANK AND SUPPORT; A FIREBOX SHELL MOUNTED UPON SAID BASE BENEATH SAID TANK CONCENTRIC WITH SAID SUPPORT AND SPACED RADIALLY INWARDLY THEREFROM; INCOMBUSTIBLE INSULATING MATERIAL DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID SHELL AND SAID SUPPORT; A COLLAPSIBLE, FELTED REFRACTORY LINER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID SHELL; MEANS DEFINING SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIAL APERTURES IN SAID SHELL, SUPPORT, AND JACKET LARGE ENOUGH TO AFFORD MANUAL ACCESS TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID SHELL; MEANS DEFINING A RELATIVELY SMALLER APERTURE IN SAID SECOND MENTIONED INSULATING MATERIAL SUBSTANTIALLY COAXIAL WITH SAID FIRST MENTIONED APERTURES FOR RECEIVNG THE 